Carry You Home.

As soon as McKinley stepped out onto Philadelphia soil, she walked into the arms of her waiting parents. She hadn't seen them in an entire year, not during Thanksgiving or on Christmas, she simply told them goodbye and that they would talk every few days. But sometimes those few days of not talking, turned into weeks and before McKinley knew it, she would go a month before picking up the phone to reassure her parents that she was still okay.

She hadn't talked to either one of them the entire time she was with Josh, she didn't want to be reminded of what her parents remind her of, and she felt to forget all of that.

But the moment she forgets, was the moment that everything came crashing back, forcing her to pick up the phone and make that one phone call that her parents have been dreading.

"We're going to see Rick on his lunch break," McKinley's mother told her from the front seat of their shiny new vehicle; it still had the new car smell.

Rick, or Doctor Richard Barnes, has become somewhat of a family friend over the years. He works at the same hospital as McKinley's father, only on a different floor, a floor that McKinley was much too familiar with.

"Why can't I go home and go to the hospital tomorrow?" McKinley whines, she hates the smell of the hospital and just the thought of stepping one foot inside its confines, makes her nauseous. "I'm still going to be sick tomorrow? What's the difference between now and later?"

"I think you know what the difference could be, Sweetie," McKinley's father; a tall man with a warm glow to his skin and gray speckling his combed back black hair, meets her gaze in the review mirror.

Despite the month rolling into August and the air was sticky with humidity, McKinley had goose bumps crawling up and down her covered arms, and that before entering the chilly hospital where nurses and fellow doctors greeted them with friendly faces.

McKinley wrapped her arms around herself tightly. "I'll meet you in Dr. Barnes office; I need to go get a sweat shirt or something." Her parents looked down at her with looks of concern. "I'll come right back, I swear."

Her dad lets out a sigh a pulls a key out of his front pocket and placed it in the waiting palm of his daughter.

McKinley opened the larger of the two suitcases that she's been living out of for the last year. It contains all of her clothing. On top of her neatly packed clothes was a balled up, green and blue plaid shirt that she stuck in there last minute before Josh came out of the shower. It was just sitting on his floor, begging to be stolen. McKinley doubted that he would even notice, he has a plethora of plaid, long-sleeve button ups.

It still smelled like him when she shrugged her arms through the sleeves and wrapped it around her. It wasn't as good as his arms wrapping around her, but this would work. It gave her enough courage to reenter the hospital and make her way up to the fifth floor and into the office of Doctor Barnes.

*

She left just as quickly as she entered Josh's life; without a single indication. It had only been a few hours but it seemed like a lifetime ago that McKinley left him with a single, mind numbing kiss to remember her bye. He didn't understand why she even left, everything was absolutely perfect. Or at they were on his end. Was he that blissfully unaware that he didn't notice that there was something wrong?

It wasn't until Andre returned home that Josh moved from his spot on the edge of the bed. Andre didn't understand why McKinley left either, she seemed happy to him.

"She told you why she was leaving, she wasn't going to handle the stress of what your job brings," Andre says, settling into the couch next to the one Josh is sitting on.

"That's not it." Josh shakes his head then drains the rest of the beer that is in a green glass bottle down his throat. "She knew who I was and what I did when we first met. And the photographs that were taken of us in Cincinnati would have made her leave if she was that concerned."

"What about money? You paid for everything since meeting her; maybe she just stuck around long enough to get to the last three states?" Andre suggested another theory.

But Josh shakes his head again. "I saw one of her bank statements that gets sent to get phone, she had enough money to do everything we did. Besides she tried paying for things too, she didn't assume that I would pay."

"Avan said that you were crazy the first couple days of meeting her. Perhaps you went to fast and that scared her. I mean she just turned nineteen and you're not twenty-one yet, and you're already looking at engagement rings."

Josh whipped her head to look at his friend. "How did you know that?"

"You left it up on your laptop the other day and I was just going to use it to check my mail when I saw it. Maybe she did too."

"Oh, fuck!" Josh flung his body back on the plush couch, bringing his palms up to rub his eyes. "I'm so fucking stupid! I have to go explain to her. I was just looking and that I'm in no rush to get married. We're young; we have all time in the world."

Josh got up and started for his bedroom, he'd go to Philadelphia and explain that he wasn't ready to get married either, he was just curious. But Andre stopped him with a simple question. "What if she doesn't want me marry you at all?"

Josh paused his smile dropping for a single second. "Impossible, have you seen me?"

Andre laughed at his overly confident friend. "Okay, but do you know where she lives?"

Josh stopped dead in his tracks again. "No, but I have the internet."

Josh looked up all the doctors that worked at the major hospitals in Philadelphia until he came across an Allan Joseph, General Surgeon. After about an hour of tedious work, he located an address, and then made quick work to book the next ticket to Pennsylvania.

"So you're just going to show up Allan Joseph's front porch and ask for McKinley? What if it's the wrong doctor with the last name Joseph? I can't believe that she didn't tell you what her parents’ names are."

"I didn't even know what her last name is until we were sitting in my drive way. Besides I don't think they're that close, she didn't talk to them the entire time she was with me. My mom calls me every day."

"That's because you and Michelle have an unhealthy relationship and she needs to cut the cord."

"Shut up, I love my mother," Josh laughed. Andre and his mom were just as close.

"But really, you're going to do this? Do you want to give Meredith a head up before you make a fool of yourself?"

"Nah, I like giving her a hard time. Drive me to the airport?"

*

McKinley's mom cried on their way home. McKinley was used to this, there have been more times where they've come back from the visits with Doctor Barnes and McKinley's mother has less than silent tears streaming down her face.

McKinley wanted to tell her to get a grip, to quit crying, that everything would eventually be okay. But all those things would just make it worse. So McKinley sat in the backseat with Josh's shirt still secured around her body for comfort.

It was dark by the time the shiny black sedan pulled into the driveway, but the street lights illuminated the brick house that McKinley remembers fondly.

"Allan?" McKinley's mother had said once the engine had been cut. "Who is sitting on our porch?"

McKinley follows her mom's gaze to the bulky mass sitting on the steps leading up to her childhood home. McKinley's heart lodged into her throat and her stomach dropped to her feet. "Oh my God," she muttered to herself, leaping out of the car, rushing up the walk way.

Josh stood once she got out of the car, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets not knowing what to do with them.

"What are you doing here?" McKinley questions harshly.

"I," Josh pauses a scrunches up his face "Wait, is that my shirt?"

McKinley shrugs out of it quickly and shoves it into Josh's chest. "I didn't mean to take it. It got mixed in with my things and the first thing I pulled out when I got cold at the hospital."

"Keep it. Why were you at the hospital?" Josh asks handing his shirt back to McKinley, not noticing her parents walking up the walkway.

"Sweetie," McKinley's mom called softly from behind her. Her red nose and puffy nose are evidence that she's been crying. "Who's this?"

"Hi, I'm Josh; McKinley's boyfriend. It's a pleasure to meet both of you," Josh stuck out his hand for Mr. Joseph to shake.

McKinley's dad took his hand apprehensively, followed by her mother. "Oh Kinley didn't tell us she was dating someone," McKinley's dad said with his deep voice.

"That's because I broke up with him," McKinley spat through her teeth, giving Josh an evil glare.

"That's why I'm here. I was just looking at engagement rings, it wasn't anything serious. Just a curiosity."

"An engagement ring!" Mrs. Joseph exclaimed. "McKinley, you're engaged?"

"What?" McKinley asked in surprise. She hadn't been on Josh's laptop, and that wasn't the reason why he left. "God no, Mom. Can I borrow the car?" she asked her father.

"Why?"

"I'm driving Josh back to the airport so we can have a long talk about how it's not okay to look people’s addresses up on the internet," she said sternly.

"Uh," McKinley could tell that her father wanted to say no. He could tell that she was angry and that mixed with the news she just got was a recipe for disaster.

"Why don't you show Josh the house?" Her mother suggested.

"No, Josh isn't coming inside. I'm not showing him around. You won't show him baby pictures, or ask about his life, or how we met, or how long we've known each other. He's leaving now and I'm driving him to the airport."

"I actually have a room at the hotel in town," Josh spoke up.

"Get a refund because you're not staying in the state of Pennsylvania tonight, or ever."

"McKinley Allison!" McKinley's mom used her middle name in a stern voice. "I know that you've gotten some bad news today but that does not make it okay to treat anybody that way. Apologize."

"I'm not apologizing."

"What bad news?" Josh asked.

"You don't need to worry about it. Keys please," McKinley holds out her hand again and her dad reluctantly hands over the keys.

"I'll see you soon," Josh smiles at McKinley's parents before following McKinley to the car she just got out of.

McKinley barely waited for Josh to get in before she was reversing out of the driveway and giving a hasty wave to her parents who were still standing on the porch. They'd probably still be there when she got back, they worried like that.

"McKinley, please talk to me," Josh said softly, reaching over to place his hand on her thigh.

"No, you had no right coming here. Do you even know what a break up means?"

"Yes, I know what a break up means, but normally they come with a reason why. I thought that you saw the engagement rings that I was looking at online, and freaked. But I now know that that isn't the case, so what is it?"

"First of all why were you even looking at engagement rings? We weren't technically dating and we've only known each other for a month. And second, you can't come here and demand answers. It doesn't work like that. If I wanted to tell you, I would have, but I didn't, so you're wasting your time and money."

"I don't care how much time or money I waste; I want to know why you broke up with me and what bad news you received."

McKinley shakes her head, annoyed. She took a turn and came into the middle of town; the hotel was only another block away.

"Wait," Josh said while they sat at a red light. He turned to McKinley, fear overcoming his face. "Are you sick? You weren't feeling well before you left and you told me that you just got back from the hospital and you got bad news. What's going on McKinley? Now I'm demanding that you tell me."

McKinley remained silent until she parked in the hotel parking lot and Josh demanded to know again. "Baby, please. I love you and I'm not leaving until I know what's wrong," he kept saying things like that. I love you. Baby. I'm not leaving. What's wrong. Until she broke, completely snapped in two.

"I have cancer, Josh!" She screamed, looking at Josh through teary eyes.

This time Josh didn't have anything to say. Nothing at all.